Announcements
• Observing on the roof of Van Allen Hall has
started and will run Tuesday to Thursday
from 9-11 pm this week.
• The first hour exam will be on Friday,
September 17.
Temperature and Color,
Classifying Stars
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Spectrum of light
How the eye sees color
Temperature and color/spectrum
Colors/spectra of stars
Classifying stars
Reading: sections: 16.5-16.6, 6.2
Electromagnetic spectrum
The “spectrum” of a particular star is how much light it
produces at each wavelength.
How your eye sees light and color
Rods and cones on the retina sense light
Rods and cones
• Cones are color sensors
• There are cones for red, green, and blue
• The color ones perceives depends on the firing
rates of the red vs. green vs. blue cones
• Cones need relatively bright light to work
• Rods give finer, more detailed vision
• Rods can work with less light
• At night, color vision is less effective because only
the rods function
Sensitivity of cones
A star will produce light overlapping the response of all three
cones. The color of the star depends on how strong its
spectrum is in the ranges covered by the different cones.
A star will produce light overlapping the response of all three
cones. The color of the star depends on how strong its
spectrum is in the ranges covered by the different cones.
A star will produce light overlapping the response of all three
cones. The color of the star depends on how strong its
spectrum is in the ranges covered by the different cones.
What can we learn from a star’s
color?
• The color indicates the temperature of the
surface of the star.
• The same is true for the filament in a light
bulb or any other hot object. In general, we
call radiation from a hot body `black body’
radiation (do demonstration 6B40.10).
Wien’s law
• Cooler objects produce radiation which
peaks at longer wavelengths (redder colors),
hotter objects produce radiation which
peaks at shorter wavelengths (bluer colors).
A star’s color depends on its surface
temperature
Spectrum demonstration 6B40.55
Stars are assigned a `spectral
type’ based on their spectra
• The spectral classification essentially sorts
stars according to their surface temperature
• The spectral classification also uses spectral
lines, which will discuss on Friday
Spectral type
• Sequence is: O B A F G K M
• O type is hottest (~25,000K), M type is coolest
(~2500K)
• Star Colors: O blue to M red
• Sequence subdivided by attaching one numerical digit,
for example: F0, F1, F2, F3 … F9 where F1 is hotter
than F3 . Sequence is O … O9, B0, B1, …, B9, A0, A1,
… A9, F0, …
• Useful mnemonics to remember OBAFGKM:
– Our Best Astronomers Feel Good Knowing More
– Oh Boy, An F Grade Kills Me
– (Traditional) Oh, Be a Fine Girl (or Guy), Kiss Me
The spectrum of a star is most
determined by
1.
2.
3.
4.
The temperature of the star’s surface
The star’s distance from Earth
The density of the star’s core
The luminosity of the star
Classifying stars
• We now have two properties of stars that we
can measure:
– Luminosity
– Color/surface temperature
• Using these two characteristics has proved
extraordinarily effective in understanding
the properties of stars – the HertzsprungRussell (HR) diagram
HR diagram
HR diagram
• Originally, the HR diagram was made by
plotting absolute magnitude versus spectral
type
• Now, it’s better to think of the HR diagram
in terms of physical quantities: luminosity
and surface temperature
If we plot lots of stars on the HR
diagram, they fall into groups
These groups indicate types of stars, or
stages in the evolution of stars
Luminosity classes
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Class Ia,b : Supergiant
Class II: Bright giant
Class III: Giant
Class IV: Sub-giant
Class V: Dwarf
The Sun is a G2 V star